New Information Technologies, Job Profiles, and External Workload as Predictors of Subjectively Experienced Stress and Dissatisfaction at Work

Abstract

Implementation cycles of information technologies in modern workplaces have become shorter, and employees have to constantly adapt to changing work situations. Presented here are preliminary results from a comprehensive research project. The 2nd Vienna Implementation Study, which investigated the effects on workers of continuous implementations, that is, the implementations of new information technologies on workplaces already equipped with computers. In a longitudinal research design, strain and dissatisfaction of 466 employees in 10 different companies are investigated. In each company, an implementation of a new information technology occurs during a specified time period. Seven measurements are taken over a 22-month period. Contextual factors postulated to moderate employee reactions to the new information technology include the following: type of implementation, implementation style (e.g., implementation management, participation) job profiles, external workload of employees, and personality factors. Preliminary analyses of the first two measurements of subjectively experienced stress and dissatisfaction (2 subscales representing strain and job satisfaction) in 9 companies are presented here. Compared to a control sample (the first 2 measurements in companies in which the implementation has not occurred), employees in the implementation sample had an increase in subjectively experienced stress and no changes in dissatisfaction shortly after the implementation. Both preimplementation values and changes in subjectively experienced stress and dissatisfaction seemed to be highly influenced by contextual factors at an organizational level. Regarding job characteristics (decision latitude) and external workload (e.g., family, children, and household responsibilities), employees with low decision latitude at their workplaces and a high external workload showed the strongest increases in subjectively experienced stress after the implementation....